Social media has been flooded with pictures of a packed county council room with supporters holding signs and giving testimony. The perception is that there is a wide and inclusive foundation of support for the HOME Act. But is that really the case? Let’s take a closer look at who sent the participants and what their organizations really stand for and desire for Montgomery County.
Montgomery County Democratic Socialists
If you visit the website of the Metro DC Democratic Socialist of America you will quickly see that the values and mission of this organization are a far deviation from the majority in MoCo. They self describe themselves as:
a chapter of the national Democratic Socialists of America, the largest socialist organization in the United States.
And that they are pursuing a “democratic socialism”, described as:
a project of radical imagination….This requires a restructuring of our economic and political systems to value people over profits. It means growing membership in unions, building economic cooperatives, and expanding services to include the entire working class.
Specifically, they have:
working groups organize around specific campaigns such as tenant organizing, defunding the police, supporting and organizing unions, engaging in electoral campaigns, and helping realize the Green New Deal.
SunRise Movement
This is a local chapter of the DC based Sunrise Movement. If you visit their website you are met with an opening splash page that looks like this:
They describe their fight as:
We all have something to lose to the climate crisis and something to gain in coming together. We tell our stories about race, class, where we’re from, and who we are to remind ourselves and the public of that truth.
And list as one of their core principals:
Winning a Green New Deal is one step in the project of collective liberation.
They also list a claim to fame as a type of capital insurrection, where they invaded and conducted a sit-in at Mitch McConnell’s office.
Young People for Progress
Young People for Progress describes itself as:
a community organizing and social justice organization of young people, aged under 35
The current demand they are pursuing is:
Jews United for Justice
Here is the mission of JUFJ:
JUFJ’s mission is to advance economic, racial, and social justice in the Baltimore-Washington region.
And they continue:
We are deeply committed to addressing the social, racial, and economic inequity in our region. That commitment drives our strategy and our campaigns to make real, immediate, and concrete improvements in people’s lives and to change the rules of our democracy so it lives up to its promise.
They kindly list the other activist groups they partner with when it comes to housing “equity”:
Impact Silver Spring
The mission of Impact Silver Spring is:
To advance racial equity, justice and liberation by working for change in individuals, communities, organizations, and systems.
The initiatives they pursue in activism are:
MPACT is supporting efforts to build a diverse, County-wide network of people advocating for laws and policies in Montgomery County that will address racial disparities in health, education, transportation, housing, criminal justice, and income and wealth.
With one of their mechanisms being racial affinity groups that are described as:
Brave spaces where people of the same race come together to share freely without bystanders, for the purpose of re-entering racially mixed spaces with greater self-awareness, less self-judgment, and stronger confidence.
The have also embraced the “green revolution” with:
We co-create, design, and maintain a variety of biodiverse Greenspace throughout Montgomery County in order to build health equity, enhance local green economy, and help foster the practice of environmental stewardship.
CASA
CASA has become a sprawling, money rich activist group, even self-describing itself as:
Now a national immigrant powerhouse, CASA creates change with its powerbuilding model blending human services, community organizing, and advocacy in order to serve the full spectrum of the needs, dreams, and aspirations of members.
It goes on:
CASA has grown, lifted by waves of activism led by day laborers and domestic workers, students and parents, co-conspirators for justice in labor, faith, and civil rights organizations.
With a mission of:
From healthcare expansion to education equity, we fight for robust progressive policies that bring CASA members and the immigrant community at large closer to ending inequity.
These were the main groups busing in individuals to protest, wave signs, and give the impression that their viewpoints were the overwhelming majority across Montgomery County? They are far from it, and if you look closely, you can see that what binds them together is an activism rooted in the furthering of policies that have already eroded MoCo. Additionally, you do not have to go far to see that the hub to all of these groups is Will Jawando and Kristin Mink.
Did you feel your opinions and viewpoints on the HOME Act were presented to the council this week?
